Changing Conceptions of Rights in the United States and the West

Abstract

Among the most pronouncedfeatures ofthe American revolutionary generation, which culminated in the writing and adoption of the Constitution of the United States, were the introduction of the idea of individual rights as the basisfor political organization and the protection of those rights as a major task ofgovernment.' This idea, which now is uncritically accepted by conventional opinion, in itself represents only one conception of rights and must be understood as such. In this article, we will examine what is a conception of rights and how rights are justified In this exploration, we have to understand how each conception of rights is shaped by a particular view of the nature of man, a particular understanding of the sources of rights, and a particular direction for the expression of rights.